Content strategy things and stuff

PaidContent has a post about the increase in subscribers to one of the new pay-as-you-go providers of mobile phone service, Amp’d Mobile. According to Amp’d’s CEO, they are approaching 50,000 subscribers. MTV and CBS are providing content, and Best Buy is providing some retail support. They were considered the first pre-paid mobile phone provider to offer 3G services [third generation bells & whistles like streaming video, audio.]

Why should this matter?

Those in a younger demographic have a different media experience than folks in public radio are accustomed to providing. Some of these mobile phones are beginning to have FM radios in them. Wonderful. But will the kids listen to the same programming that their parents do [public radio, hopefully] or will they seek out material that fits their own media consumption habits?

Clear Channel is getting in on this, as announced today, with interactivity and content branded specifically to one of their stations in New York, to be rolled out to 100 other in the next year.

Sprint and mobile content provider mSpot are banding together, reports Mediaweek, and will soon offer massive amounts of content: audio, video, and otherwise. Some public radio content has made its way to the platform — a wise move.

However, having the same content that airs on the radio available on mobile phones does not a young listener make. It is a good step. A good second step, perhaps.

Creating content steeped in the public radio core values and that addresses the heretofore unparalleled media awareness of the younger demo is one of the most important keys to survival.

As for the title of this post, see the video of one of the carefully targeted Amp’d Mobile ads below. To my knowledge, this is the first commercial for a product that uses the concept of bleeped profanity.